Subscribe to download
Gelida Tau

Almost an exo-planet....this alien iceworld would be absolutely worthless if not for its past; when it was closer to its sun. Eons ago it was temperate, and may have sustained life, but some unknown force caused its orbit to elongate and, eventually, it broke its master's spell and is now moving, moonless, slowly yet inexorably into space.

That time closer to its sun heated its core, and the energy produced is now in its last gasps, emitting enough warmth through small fissures in the surface to heat what little remains of the atmosphere to a frigid temperature that is just barely usable for human habitation.

Call it natural life-support, if you will. There is even a weak but functional atmospheric weather system -- with occasional snowfall! Our scientists estimate it has anywhere from 200,000,000,000 to 800,000,000,000 Sols left before it will sputter and die-out, planetwide. It is so hard to be precise with these things, you know.

We have identified a promising site rich in an exceedingly rare mineral and centered on a hot spring full of liquid hydrogen and mercury. It's small but will give you something to look at aside from endless ice. There is ample time to mine the valuable ore here, so rare in the Known Universe that we have come to this icy hellscape to claim it.

Well...you have come here. I am going to stay on the Station, where it is warm.

Good luck, Governor.




* * * *

One direction of highway and rail are underground through map, other direction is invisible 5lane highway. At start make your own intersections.